Published reports have claimed that a group of property investors has presented Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) with a petition urging the watchdog to clamp down on "fly-by-night developers" who were unable to deliver projects amid tightening liquidity and project financing, even though they've taken down payments from investors.  The petition allegedly came from the Dubai Property Investors Group, made up of more than 300 local and international investors, lawyers and real estate developers.

Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of RERA, branded the petition story "absolutely untrue", declaring "I did neither receive a letter of this kind nor any call from the said news website or other."   He continued: "Loss of investor's rights is a red line...it has not happened and it will never happen in Dubai real estate market...RERA has completed registration of developers and brokers at its records to preserve their rights... We understand the feelings of worry resulted from the impact of the global financial crisis but we are against the unjustifiable panic, exaggeration and hitting under the belt by some for the sake of making illegitimate ends."

The Dubai Property Investors Group appears to be an online organization with uncertain membership.  The group has allegedly urged investors to cease payments on projects that have not yet begun construction, and plans to challenge a legal amendment specifying that off-plan buyers wishing to halt their payments have to cancel their contract and forfeit 30 per cent of the total value of the property, instead of only 30 per cent of the money they have paid.